I think you got a lot of negs because people feel that given the conditions and with your skill set, you probably should not have taken off.
You were quite lucky and I would advise learning spiral dives and practicing them as they are still the best way to escape strong lift.
They will give you a much safer and more reliable descent technique than BE or GBE.

Hey Amir,
Thank you for your comment, I do not care about the negs. It certainly was a foolish decision to take off. I think sharing our bad decisions is more valuable than sharing our epic good decisions. Five minutes before we took off conditions seemed okay and my friend Ashley was patting a donkey, but at takeoff time conditions were poor and I should’ve put the wing in the bag. I posted this story as a cautionary tale but also to advise Alpina3 pilots that great big ears do work.

The neg’ers May be happy to know that this situation has caused me to abandon my tandom training as I recognise that I somewhat enjoy danger._________________For my friends everything, for my enemies, the law.

I wish it had been so easy to make my L2 roll stable, I've tried all sorts of position adjustments over the years. Ive discovered Its a known problem. Most of those with L2's in my circle usually only fly them in the more calm days, but many pilots also modify them.

Modifications include making the leg straps slightly shorter (either permanently or temporarily) or make them adjustable: tightening them up increases stability a bit. The other way is to fit in an extra strap & malleon to the centre leg straps and then towards the hangoints, this increases stability a bit more significantly.

Advance have made some modifications to the L3 to make it more stable, but they still don't have adjustable leg straps which is a shame, so some pilots are putting them in.

Apart from the stability issue its a super harness, so it's worth doing the modifications.

Can you provide more info :
- did you buy it from Flymaster ? Or did you buy it from another Reseller or Mobile Sevice Provider ?
- your SIM belongs to which Mobile Service Provider ? (You see it normally at the top of your screen of your Live)
- which kind of subscription do you have ? Prepaid, Yearly or monthly subscription ?

it was from Virgin Media, I use them at home for internet, TV, phones, etc...
the service actually runs on EE / T-mobile network masts
it was a pre paid / top up type of SIM

The new SIM card came with a ‘make sure you use it’ warning from the shop, it would seem that, in the UK at least, there are so many unused cards the companies are cancelling and recycling the numbers whenever they can. We have the same problem at work with the iPads we’d been issued, some of the less techno minded staff are finally brushing the dust off the box and finding the SiM has been cancelled when they try to work out why the mobile data connection doesn’t work.

Chap in shop said every network does it and the way to avoid it is to send at least one SMS every three months, just sending small amounts of data wasn’t enough activity. The card I have now costs me 1p for data, 2p for texts and the money on it lasts until used, I started with £10. Yesterday’s flying and upload from Dec / Jan data didn’t cost much at all.

I looked at the Flymaster ones but went with O2 because I could collect it from my local high street, and I didn’t want yet another monthly amount going out.

A non-certified wing does not mean, it's unsafe. The companies do a lot of R&D and many test-flights. It's a question of investment at all:
- you have to know the certification-costs for each size (high)
- you calculate (as a profit-oriented businessman) the costs vs. how many units per size you can sell
- under a certain amount per size you sell without EN/LTF

No serious company will sell a "dangerous" glider today. It's business-suicide.

And another point I've mentioned somewhere: About 70% fly outside the certification; wrong harness-setup f.ex.. But they don't know it.

A friend of mine from Malta sent this to me.
I've flown here many times before and its a low cliff - there are 2 cliffs here one that goes down to the sea, some flat area where there is small farm land and then this second cliff where this pilot got hung up. I would guess the pilot ended up on the cliff because winds were dying down and he was trying to stay up a bit too close to the cliff and one of his lines caught. Any other info?

Can you provide more info :
- did you buy it from Flymaster ? Or did you buy it from another Reseller or Mobile Sevice Provider ?
- your SIM belongs to which Mobile Service Provider ? (You see it normally at the top of your screen of your Live)
- which kind of subscription do you have ? Prepaid, Yearly or monthly subscription ?

A short explanation:
Rolan, our new member of the admin team, who's helping us with technical issues and server administration, has moved two files on the wrong place. They were supposed to be only on the developing and testing environment.

There is a small percentage of pilots who fly over 5000 meters. So most of us can enjoy full potential of the Karpofly inflatable airbag.
The only issue that the valve can be broken after many times of use. It doesnt mean you cant use it, just the plug will be hard task to remove for deflation.

Since no paper ballots were returned to USHPA before the deadline, the result of the electronic voting is it, so it's known sooner than expected. The following was emailed this evening from USHPA to all members:

----------

Results of Governance Proposal Vote

Dear USHPA member,

Thank you for participating in the governance proposal vote. In total, 32% of members voted, and we appreciate your taking the time to share your opinion.

We received two requests for paper ballots, but none were returned before the close of the election. Since there are no paper ballots to tabulate, these are the final results. We will provide a regional breakdown once certified by the election service provider.

While change can be difficult, we're confident in our members' decision that a smaller governing body will be more efficient and effective, better represent all of our members, and have a greater ability to try new initiatives to grow our sports and support all of our instructors, chapters, and pilots.

Because the membership voted to pass the proposal, USHPA's board size will be reduced at the end of the Spring board meeting in 2 weeks. This process will follow the transitional board plan laid out in USHPA's Bylaws as accepted by the membership vote. The existing officers will carry forward to the new board. Board members interested in remaining on the board will be nominated (or self-nominated), then voted on by the rest of the board. The diversity algorithm will then be applied to determine the result of this vote in order to ensure that all regions, wing types, genders, and ages possible are represented on the transitional board. Please note that all Regional Directors from regions that did not approve the bylaw amendment (i.e., voted against the proposal) will remain on the transitional board for the duration of their elected terms, with the result that the transitional board may be larger than 10 members. Since they will be carry over directors, they will not be eligible for the election taking place at the Spring meeting. In Fall 2019, an election will be held to begin replacing the transitional board to proceed to the new governance process.

We would like to thank James Bradley and the rest of the volunteers who identified an issue they wanted to change, then spent countless hours writing, revising, discussing, and promoting the proposal. USHPA relies on dedicated volunteers for much of the work that we do, and we sincerely appreciate their efforts to further the organization.

We know that this was a much-debated issue. If you are dissatisfied with the result of the vote, or with other areas within USHPA--volunteer! The governance proposal is a perfect example that volunteers can, and do, have a huge impact on our organization and our sport. We're always open to working with members to improve the organization for everyone. If you're interested in collaborating with us, please let us know through email or by filling out our volunteer form. You're also welcome to attend our Spring board meeting in Golden, CO in 2 weeks and to give us feedback there.

Thank you again to everyone who worked on the proposal, gave feedback, and participated in the vote. We're looking forward to continuing to improve our organization and to better serving our flying community.

Thanks Mario
I am going to update elevation data and try the map feature. I think an optional refresh rate of more than one second might be of importance to produce higher resolution snail trail and also it allows to have a more detailed IGC files. I did have an accident last year and a lot of things happened within a few seconds . The IGC record left me wondering what exactly went wrong in those terminal seconds.
So i am using a high res 10hz external GPS connected to TopHatSoaring via a BT connection. That has really improved the thermaling and also IGC records for me.
The newer generation varios seem to going towards a more high res GPS input. XcTracerII seem to be using a 5HZ chipset, so does the MipFly, AlfaPilot...etc
There is a nice article on the FreeAero Magazine that you might enjoy reading (start around page 28 onward)
https://issuu.com/saschaburkhardt/docs/instruments-e_f425ed3b104534

My kobo/XC Soar timeout at random and split my flight in a few sections" usually 2 or 3. Any advice?

I'm not sure what you mean by "timeout"

However there are a couple of things that cause more than one track for single a flight.

Have you set XCS to use a PG polar? Config / Plane / List / Then scroll to a PG polar. Remember to activate it.

Have you set the Logger to "Start only" Config / System / Setup / Logger / Then in Auto. Logger field select Start only.

I've got my kobo mini set as above with correct polar for my T2C hang glider. sometimes the logger records a flight and other times not. no settings are changed between flights. while flying XCsoar is operating correctly even during tasks.

I had long been trying to find databases like para2000. No results.
Therefore we launched the new project "Paragliding database." This is an OPEN project for anyone who wants to help.
I hardly know in which part of the forum can this be discussed? (Hint me)

I think paragliding must develope through experience, knowledge, improving the quality of flight.

U-Turn is/was client of EAPR. EAPR don't publish the test-reports and also U-Turn don't publish the reports, at least I don't have seen one for their wings of the last years. Except for the small size, the Infinity 4 has certification numbers, which implies that they are certified, but we're lacking the final public proof.

I realise this is a bit of an old thread, but it seems like the best place to post a quick video review of the 3F UL Gear tent that I use for volbiv...
Happy camping, Tim

Hi Tim, you said the tent leaked a bit, did you seam seal it before you used it?
Lots of good advice and tips on ultralight backpacking gear can be found on various forums. A UK based one is www.trek-lite.com

I just returned form flying the Cauca today. I have flown there this time of year for several years now. For me conditions are certainly stronger in all phases of flying. I think this was the strongest and most difficult year that I have flown there with one other year being close. Both drought years.

I believe that our mortality rate is due to the insidious nature of paragliding itself. What I mean by insidious nature is that paragliders are so easy to learn to fly and so innocuous in calm or smooth air. Within just a couple of hours on any given day that easy-to fly-glider can become very difficult to fly and require a lot of experience in strong conditions. Worse, if flying in smooth conditions has lulled a pilot into buying a glider too difficult for him/her in the most difficult conditions he/she flies in.

On launch this year I saw a several pilots launching, or in some cases attempting to launch, into moderately strong conditions who did not have reasonable skills keeping their gliders pressurized in all phases of the launch. Yet even with very poor ground handling skills they were able to eventually get into the air. I also saw, hopping early into harnesses during the the launch phase, and letting go of brakes low after launch to adjust harnesses.

For me all of these things indicate pilots who should not be flying in Rolda's strongest thermals and likely some of them did not, but I'm also certain that many did.

Personally, I loved the challenge some of the stronger thermals gave me this year and I do not support any organization stopping me from taking those risks. Flying 3-5 hours a day for several days in a row my biggest loss of control was 20% of one side once. I personally fly in those kinds of conditions fairly regularly and I have logged more than 2,000 hours flying and I'd guess at least 500 kiting in all kinds of conditions. I got here very gradually and carefully under the best instruction; even so, with a few very serious bruises and sprains.

Somehow, our sport must find a way to instill in students and new pilots just how demanding flying a paraglider in a strong turbulent thermal can be and how deadly getting yourself in the wrong place at a bad time can be.

It's difficult though. I think the Carrera story might be an indicator of of how hard it is to tell inexperienced pilots how bad things can get. GIN said in every way possible that the Carrera was for experienced pilots. Nonetheless, I understand hundreds of of pilots bought Carreras as their fist glider and hundreds more left low B gliders for them. I personally warned a 30 hour pilot on this forum away from the Carrera and he replied to me that his instructor said he could fly it. The result was a lot of accidents, near misses and more than a fair share of fatalities. All giving a fantastic and safe glider a very bad name (I flew a Carrera 120 miles at Chelan, loved that glider)._________________Neil H